Prisoners of Time and Space
by SorainaSkye
Summary: On the day of his wedding to Tifa, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie are sent into another dimenion, ruled by a cruel empire. There, Cloud finds himself falling for the leader of the rebellion against the SHINRA. Can they lead an opressed nation into light? CA YV. On permanent hiatus.
1. The Best Day of Our Lives

Yay! My first AU! Here's what you need to know:

Aerith, Sephiroth, and Vincent don't exist. At least, not in this world. Don't worry, they'll be in the story soon.

Tifa is 25, Yuffie is 21, Cloud is 26. Aerith (when you meet her) is 24 while Vincent is 28. Sephiroth (yes he is in this story, and no, he isn't the leader of the empire,) is 27.

Sephiroth is a main character, though not in the way he was in FF7. He's going to be a bit like Seifer (FF8) in a way...heh heh heh...you'll see what I mean soon...

Aerith still has her Cetra powers, but she had been injected with Mako.

Both Sephiroth and Vincent have Mako in them like in FF7, though Vincent has no demons inside him as Lucretia died before she met him. Vincent and Sephiroth both have the same weapons as in the game.

The pairings are: Cloud/Tifa (at first, doesn't last long) Cloud/Aerith (main pairing), Vincent/Yuffie (important pairing), and Tifa/Reno (also highly significant.) I don't know If I'll pair up Sephiroth or not...he is not the same as in FF7...so maybe I can do a love triangle or something...heh heh heh...wait and see my child...

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One

The Best day of our Lives

Today was the day.

They had booked the church nearly six months previously, eager for this day. Tifa Lockhart was getting married.

Tifa Lockhart was about to become Tifa Strife.

Said bride was anxiously waiting for her Maid of Honor, Yuffie Kisagari to emerge from behind the dressing curtain. Her other bridesmaids, Jessie and Shera were clustered around her, adding the finishing touches to their appearance. Tifa had known both of them for about three years, Jessie through her employment with Tifa's family friend, Barret. Barret had been like a father to both her and a young girl Marlene, taking them in after the death of their parents. Tifa's mother had died giving birth, her father later dying of cancer in her teen years. Marlene had been orphaned at age three when her parents got in a mountaineering accident. Marlene grew to be an adorable and sweet girl, now eight years old, she was the perfect pick for flower girl in the wedding.

Tifa had met Shera also through Barret. Barret worked in the mining business, and had become partners with a master of machinery, Cid Highwind. Shera had been living with him, and moved with him when Cid came to live in the beautiful and peaceful city of Midgar. Though the woman was a few years older, she and Tifa had become fast friends. Shera was quiet, though once you knew her, she hardly shut up. Jessie too, had a great personality, she was always responsible and made sure that everyone was treated fairly.

"There!" Shera said as she finished setting Jessie's elaborate braids. She blew a stray bit of golden hair from her eyes and smiled warmly at her friend. "You're all done. Don't you dare mess it up…" Jessie laughed, fingering her copper colored hair. "No way, this took you forever. I don't think I've ever sat down for so long in my entire life." She stood up, gazing in appreciation at her reflection. "This looks fantastic Sher! Ever consider being a personal hairdresser?"

"And have to spend my days fingering through tangled, lice-infested hair? I laugh. Hah, Hah, and, just for good measure, another hah!"

Jessie glared while Tifa giggled at her friends.

Both Jessie and Shera's hair were in small braids that were all pulled into a larger one hanging down their backs. It was elaborate and took a long time to do, but all had agreed that it was worth it. Shera stood out the most, her light blue dress contrasting nicely with her golden-brown hair and blue-green eyes. Jessie, who had the longest hair after Tifa, lifter her heavy braid with a playful groan. "This thing weighs a ton! It could be a deadly weapon!" Shera rolled her eyes. If anyone attacks you'll be right out in front them, ready to knock them out with your hair." Jessie glared again, slapping Shera's arm playfully.

Tifa couldn't keep the giddiness she was feeling contained. Her she was, surrounded by her best friends, marrying the man of her dreams. It was almost too good to be true.

Jessie twirled in front of a large mirror. "These dresses are gorgeous Teef! If our dresses look this good, what does the Maid of Honor look like?" Tifa laughed. "You'll see. I'm glad you like your dresses…"

The brides' Maids' dresses were light blue, simple, sleeveless, and elegant. A silk white sash was tied around their waists, pearl necklaces and earrings were worn on both of them. A single print of a white rose was imprinted on the dresses, on the left side of their chest. Blue strap heels made them a good few inches taller; something Jessie said could only be improvement.

"Well…how do I look?"

The group turned to look at Yuffie as she emerged from behind the curtain with a gasp.

The dress was a sky-purple and blue, off the shoulder, coming down to her ankles. It puffed out like an old style-dress, getting wider as it went down. A white stone cut in the shape of a rose was attached to the V-dip where the dress came off her shoulders. A blue sash was tied up like a headband, contrasting her black hair wonderfully. Her hair was the shortest among them, hanging down about an inch above her shoulders. The shoes were also blue, and high-heeled like the other ones.

Compliments were pouring out her friends' mouths like a gushing waterfall.

"Yuff! You look soooooo good!"

"Wow! That dress looks great on you!"

"Oh my god! You look fantastic!"

Yuffie gazed warily at her squealing friends. "Okay, that's enough! Is there a button I can press to make you shut up?" Tifa laughed, embracing her friend of five years.

"If you find it, let me know! I've been looking for ages!"

Yuffie laughed, hugging her friend back.

They had met while Tifa had been on vacation in a small, exotic country called Wutai. To say that they didn't immediately hit it off would be an understatement.

Yuffie had pick pocketed the unsuspecting Tifa, and hadn't been caught. Later, Tifa had found herself attacked by thugs…

"_Hey! Get your Hands off me!"_

_A man in a black facemask leered at Tifa. "Heh…not likely, lady." He made an odd motion with his hand, and out of nowhere, a fist plunged into Tifa's stomach. Doubling over in pain, Tifa found her eyes were hazy and unfocused. Looking down, she saw, to her horror, that blood was seeping through her shirt onto her hands. With a groan, she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach._

"_How long will it take the poison to fully enter her system?" The man in the facemask asked, turning to his comrade that was still in the shadows. He eyed Tifa, looking slightly bored. "A few days from now. And in that time she won't have the strength to walk, let along talk."_

_The man in the facemask cackled. _

"_Excellent…she won't know what hit her." _

"_Yeah!?! Well how about I hit you!!"_

_A shuruken came spinning into view, lodging in the stomach of the masked man. Without so much as a groan, he fell to the ground, eyes staring lifelessly. The other man hissed and drew a sword, turning in the direction the flying weapon had come from. "Come out here you Bastard!"_

_A shadowy figure appeared in the darkness._

"_Hah…that's not quite the appropriate term for me…"_

_And the figure charged as Tifa's world went black…_

She had woken up in a small hut five days later. The girl who had saved her from the thugs, also saved her from the poison injected into her blood.

Her name was Yuffie Kisagari, Princess of Wutai.

Her mother had been murdered by the same thugs years ago, and she had sworn revenge. She said that there was no way she would let another woman fall prey to their madness.

Needless to say, they became best friends.

Yuffie even gave back the things she had stolen, and though she did not live in Midgar, she lived close enough to visit every other day. She left her father and throne behind, unhappy with that life. She was a few years younger than Tifa, having only been sixteen when they had met, while Tifa had been twenty. Many mistook the two for sisters with their similar dark hair and features, though Tifa's eyes were wine-red and Yuffie's were a bright gray-green. Yuffie had been extremely honored to be Maid of Honor at her best friend's wedding, though she was reluctant to take part in the formal affairs.

Yuffie looked forlornly at her high-heeled shoes. "Damn…I'm gonna break my neck in these things…" She looked up at Tifa incredulously.

"**I **wanted to wear flat shoes, but nooo, they just HAD to have heels, huh?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "It's about time you got out of there, I need to change."

Yuffie grinned at her friend; taking her hand she squeezed it, letting all her joy and happiness flow into that movement.

"So, Tifa Lockhart…are you ready to become Tifa Strife?"

Tifa smiled, tears of happiness in her eyes.

"This day is too perfect! What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

An old priest stood at the altar, reading off the wedding vows to Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart. The couple gave small smiles to each other, linking hands. The priest rumbled on, feeble voice barely echoing in the glowing church. "…Any persons who object to this union…speak now…or forever hold your peace…"

A cloaked and hunchbacked figure stepped over the threshold. The figure looked up at the bride and groom, gaining the whole attention of the assembly. The face was that of a ragged old woman with chiseled features and unnaturally bright blue eyes. She walked slowly down the isle, a twisted wooden cane clutched in her knotted and veined hand. No one spoke out against the figure, as though they were under a spell, unable to look away from her overly bright eyes…

She spoke…in a voice older and more powerful than time…more wonderful, and more terrible than death…

"_**I speak against a union of what could never be…"**_

Her voice didn't echo in the room, penetrating their being like an icy knife…

"_**The soldiers are yet to fight their battle…"**_

Her hand disappeared in the folds of her cloak, reemerging holding a smooth, glowing, blue stone. The room seemed to pulse with its power as it began to glow brighter and brighter still.

"_**A battle for their destiny…they must decide the outcome…"**_

In a fluid motion, she whirled her arm around, flinging the stone at the ground before Cloud and Tifa.

Cloud pulled Tifa behind him, "Tifa look out!"

"Cloud!"

The stone exploded with the force of a bomb, a whirlwind of Blue Lightning growing and expanding, pulling at them, sucking them in like water would go in a drain. Cloud quickly grabbed one of the stone pillars, seizing Tifa's hand as she began to slide toward the raging whirlwind.

"Tifa!" Yuffie jumped forward, running toward her best friend, grabbing her hand as she struggled to keep herself upright.

"Yuffie!" Tifa cried, tears coming to her eyes as their hands and fingers strained to hold together.

"Run Yuffie!"

Yuffie shook her head, eyes too shining with tears as she clutched Tifa's hand. "I won't leave you!" she screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as she began to feel her grip slipping on the pillar she was holding. The wind continued to suck them in, forming a bubble around them, keeping anyone else out. Even the priest that had been blown backward by the explosion could not approach the barrier.

Tifa gazed at her loved ones, clutching desperately to her hand.

'**I cannot let them stay in such pain…If I let myself be sucked in they may be spared…'** A vision of the old woman's face appeared in her mind.

'**That woman…there was no evil in her eyes…I feel…as though I can trust her…as though I should let myself go…'**

With the face of the woman swimming in her mind, Tifa let go.

"TIFA!!!" Cloud and Yuffie screamed as Tifa released their hands, falling into the swirling blue abyss. In one fluid motion, they pushed off of the pillars and followed Tifa into the unknown…

* * *

The world was spinning.

Colors, words, and sounds tumbled around them. Everything was free in this place; minds and hearts were released, soaring across the cosmos with clarity unknown to their earthly bodies.

For a moment…their hearts knew true freedom…

Feeling…without doubts or lies…knowing…without wondering why…

The moment passed…and they found themselves facing reality…

* * *

"Ugh…"

Yuffie opened her eyes slowly; surprised to find it almost as dark when they were open as when they were closed. "What…happened…? It feels like…I've been hit by a train…"

With the force of a speeding bullet, the memories of what had occurred returned to her.

'**Alright…so we entered the vortex thingy…where am I then?'**

Yuffie's thoughts were interrupted when a muffled groan broke through the silence like a knife. Squinting, Yuffie could make out a dark shape sitting up.

"Tifa…?" she whispered, edging closer to the figure, trying to make it clearer. The figure jumped, scooting closer to her as well.

"Yuffie?" Tifa asked, unable to make out her friend's features in the dark.

"Tifa! Thank Leviathan you're okay!"

Yuffie rushed forward, embracing the still slightly confused Tifa. Another moan broke through the air, this one deeper, more masculine.

"Cloud…?" Tifa said, crawling toward her love. "Cloud, are you alright?"

Cloud opened his eyes to find himself staring directly into the wine-colored eyes of Tifa. With a sigh of relief, Cloud pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Teef…"

Tifa nodded, melting into his embrace

"Where are we?" he asked, breaking the embrace sooner than Tifa would have liked. In the darkness, he missed her look of hurt.

Without warning, a beam of green light flooded the room, blinding the three people crouched on the ground. Two figures stood in the doorway, illuminated by the strange bright light. They rushed forward, guns pointed at them as they squinted in the light.

"Tell us who you are! If you swear allegiance to the empire your life may be spared." One of them ground out, his voice low and guttural as he aimed his gun at Cloud and Tifa.

"What empire?" Yuffie asked, eying the gun in confusion.

'**What's going on here…?'**

The other man jumped closer to her, aiming his gun at her head. "Shut up!" He roared, voice vibrating with fury. "Don't play dumb with me! Tell me, do you support the empire!?!"

"Leave her alone!" Tifa exclaimed, glaring at the men. "We don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"We don't know what's going on," Cloud said, gazing warily at the men garbed in strange black clothes. "Care to explain where the hell we are?"

Surprisingly, the man nearest to him let out a bark-like laugh, one that made ice enter their veins. "You've got one thing right," he rasped out.

Looking over to his companion, he gave a slight nod, and charged forward, firing at Cloud and Tifa with bursts of bright red light, while the other man fired the same at Yuffie. They slumped to the ground, unconscious. The man laughed again, striding over to Cloud and Tifa, he slung their bodies over his shoulders. Turning to his companion, who already had Yuffie slung over him, he grinned. "The boss'll be pleased." He rasped. "We found him some more labor." The other man laughed too, his laugh more high pitched and eerie. "Let's take them to their new home, shall we?" He walked out the door flooded with the green light.

The rough-voiced man spoke to the unconscious people in his arms.

"Welcome to your living Hell…"

* * *

Well? What'cha think? Please Reveiw! 

Next Chapter: Reality

Aerith, Vincent, and Sephiroth make an appearance! Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie are sent to a cruel prison camp. Can they survive the horrible conditions? While trying to come to grips with their new Reality, they are suprised to find a secret resistance! Can they provide it with what it needs to endure?

Catch ya on the flip side!


	2. Reality

Yay! Next chapter up! Aerith, Hojo, and Sephiroth are introduced. You'll have to wait for the next couple of chapters for Vincent, Reno, and Rude. I'm really happy with how this turned out!

Enjoy!  


* * *

Chapter Two

Reality

The Shinra Readjustment facility.

Sound's kind of like a hospital or a rehab center, doesn't it?

My name is Aerith. And I've been a prisoner at that facility for seventeen years. I watched my parents die at the hands of the Shinra Company, and was taken here at age seven. I've remained here ever since.

You really don't know the cruelty mankind can sink to until you've been laid down with the dogs. To them, that's all we are.

Ever heard the expression 'work our fingers to the bone'?

Take a guess at what they make us do.

The facility itself is like the slums of a huge, polluted, city. There are houses (if you can call stinking, condemned, one-room apartments a house,) connected side-by-side along wide, dirt 'streets. There are some animals here, not livestock, though there are many wild dogs. Often, these dogs are rabid, so they are not approached, though sometimes we hunt them to eat. Disease and plagues sweep through here as easily as wind would blow through the trees. Many children that are born here are immune to such sickness, though their parents perish and they end up dying of starvation or another disease brought in by newcomers. We have access to little or no electricity; we have no electric lighting, the little we have comprising of small boilers or stoves. We have many candles, though very few ways to light them. There are no plans, save for the scruffy yellow grass that sticks out of the ground in damper places. A large lake is in the middle of our 'community', though we do not drink from it for fear of an even earlier death. I can't even remember the last time I saw clean water, let alone tasted it, or even bathed in it. We have the sun, as there is a large window stretching above the whole encampment, though the sky is so blotted with smog, you can hardly call it sunshine. At night, iron doors close over the sky, opening again in the morning. We're not even aloud to see the sun rise or set. They deprive us of what nature has given.

By 'us' I mean the twenty-seven thousand, five hundred, thirty-two people that live in this hellhole we call home. That count was taken over a year ago, and no one has arrived since then. Many have died, though the number has barely deflated in the chaos.

We spend little time in these 'homes' of ours, our days are spent instead doing backbreaking labor. Far away from the streets and houses, we mine precious metals and gems from the coarse ground. We then drag it out, no carts, only our own strength, to pull it over a mile to where it is dumped into an underground metal working facility, where many of us spend days and hours creating weapons and priceless jewelry that is sold around the world.

Guess how much of the profit comes our way?

Zero, zilch, nada. It's not like we could do anything with the money anyway, we have no shops or things to buy. Kinda defeats the purpose of money.

Anyway, it was an average day in hell.

The Shinra Special Operations Commanders (SSOC for short) were lurking about in their black and blue uniforms, whips, guns, and clubs, either in hand or clipped to a belt. It was their job to see that we got our work done, and to punish us as they saw fit. Shockingly, they seemed to find it fit often.

A wrinkled old man, looking as though a soft breeze would push him over, struggled in vain to drag his pile of metal ore and gemstones, his knotted hands burning a bright red as blood rushed from the effort. Without a word, I began to make my way over to the man, intending to take his load so he could rest. I didn't make it in time.

The man slipped, falling over backwards, his carefully piled stones and rock falling lose from the pouch, scattering along the ground, glittering dully as the man gave a throaty groan. One of the SSOC frowned, walking over to the man, taking out a whip as he went.

"This one's too old and slow to keep alive," he sneered, towering over the old man, casting a long, sinister shadow over the fallen stones. He raised his whip as the man looked up, eyes wide with horror at what he considered his inevitable fate.

There was no time for me to think as I dropped my much larger load and sprinted toward the fallen man as the SSOC's whip flew through the air. I skidded to a stop in front of its path, catching the whip as it wound itself tightly around my arm. Pulling back with all my might, the SSOC tumbled forward, kissing the ground with a muffled curse. He raised his head, glaring at me. "Why you little-" He growled, baring his teeth. I didn't answer, spinning around I kicked him, my foot catching under his chin, snapping his head up like a rubber band. He face-planted again, looking slightly dazed.

I was in deep now, the other SSOC's would be coming after me any second.

Sure enough, "You little bitch!" A SSOC came at me from the side, swinging a large, metal-plated club. I jumped the side, his blow easily overshooting me. Without warning, a pair of strong, gloved hands grabbed me from behind, wrapping his whip around me, tying my hands together. I mentally smacked myself for not being more aware; and though a kicked this new man hard in the shins, he did not release his old on me. He pinned me to the ground, while I kicked and bit anything within my reach. He was too heavy, and I found myself being crushed under his weight. I suddenly found myself unable to breathe, my lungs squeezing in as the man tied my legs together and forced a piece of cloth over my mouth. "Heh…not so feisty now, are you?" the man breathed, his voice sounding like a recorder. The pressure was released as I felt the man get off of me, though my mouth was covered I breathed deeply through my nose, glaring up at the victor of the small skirmish. He leered down at me, looking oddly sinister with a shining bald head and a bright red mustache.

"You've got to get punished now girly," he wheezed, grinning with what seemed to be almost pointed teeth. He looked me up and down, his gaze becoming almost predatory before he continued. "Too bad…maybe if you're a good girl from now on, we can get better _acquainted_…" I glared at him spitefully, directing my hands as best as I could so that he could see them clearly, I lifted my middle finger from my clenched fist.

He laughed, his voice sending chills up my spine. "Oooh, you got fire, gal." The man that I had forced to the ground stood up supporting, to my satisfaction, a steadily flowing bloody nose. "Enough playing around Slan, she's to be taken directly to the lieutenant. She had to be punished for her rouge behavior." I struggled not to laugh, he voice sounding not the least bit intimidating as his held his nose, and merely sounding almost as though he's swallowed helium. He glared at me, as though he could clearly see what I was thinking. Then he smirked, "This is the fifth time this week, girl. Keep this up and you'll be dead before the month ends." The man who had missed me with his club strode over, incredibly cocky for having missed a rebelling prisoner. "This one cannot be killed, Rave, you know that. The president won't allow the last Cetra powers to go to such waste." The man named Rave grunted, turning on his heel and walking away. Slan turned back to me, grinning. "The Lieutenant will be so pleased to see you again," he grated, picking me up and swinging me over his shoulder as though I weighed no more than a silk scarf. The man with the club followed closely behind, clearly making sure Slan didn't get any ideas.

They took me underground, down dark stone steps and through hallways with dimly lit torches in brackets. I was rather bored, quite used to such a view, though inside I flinched as the sound of screaming rang in my ears. Slan cackled though the man with the club continued on without comment.

A minute later, the man with the club was opening a heavy wooden door with a set of silver keys. The door swung open, reveling an even more dimly lit room, from which chains and shackles hung from the ceiling and draped across the floor. A man in a long cape stood in the center, leering, a whip barbed with metal held tightly in his hand.

"Miss Gainsborough…" Lieutenant Hojo hissed. "What a pleasure it is to see you again my dear…" I responded with the dirtiest look I could muster.

He laughed. "I see that, once again, the feeling is mutual." He turned his cold yellow-ish eyes to the SSOC's. "Prepare her!" He barked, pointing to bloodstained shackles in the far corner. Slan carried me over, lifting me from his shoulder and snapping the shackles around my hands, still tied together. My back was to Hojo and the man with the club now, Slan moving in front of me to tighten the shackles around my wrists. He grinned at me, his stinking breath clouding up my vision for a moment. "I want to hear you scream, girly," he wheezed, eyes glinting maliciously. Rage built up in my blood, skyrocketing to my brain, extinguishing all thought as I swung my legs, still bound together back with every intention on catching him in the groin. Before my target was met, club-man caught my feet, binding them in cold shackles just as my hands were.

"We have to bind her feet as well Slan. Last time she gave the other operatives quite a bit of trouble."

I inwardly grinned, relishing the memory of when I had successfully knocked out eight of the men using nothing but my legs. For the first time, Slan eyed me with slight apprehension. "Quite," he muttered, glancing down in worry at what I would have hit. "She is prepared, lieutenant," club-man called, walking away to the opposite corner. Slan followed closely after him.

"Wait," Hojo said, stopping Slan in his tracks. "Uncover her mouth." I could almost feel his malicious grin, his eyes boring into the back of my neck.

"I want to hear her scream."

Slan cackled, removing the cloth from around my mouth, though he walked away almost as quickly again. I heard Hojo stepping closer, lifting up the back of my shirt and tucking it in under the cloth over my shoulders. He made a 'Tsk Tsk' sound, his fingers tracing along the scars on my back.

"It seems your Cetra powers can't keep up…soon they will likely be unable to heal you at all. One of these days you'll come in here…and I might end up killing you…" his voice was lowered in mock concern, though I heard tones of barely constrained laughter within it. I shivered as his greasy fingers touched my skin, feeling as though cockroaches were crawling on my body.

Hojo dew back, stepping away to where it would be best for the whip to slice into my skin. "Scream for me…" he murmured. And the whip flew at me with a crack.

The dull metal cut into my skin, coming back before the pain from the first strike had even settled in. The pain was like fire, burning up my body slowly as again and again he struck, laughing, taunting, and again and again the whip cut my skin. No sound escaped my mouth, not even as the blood dripped down off my ankles, nor when Hojo received a second whip and sliced me open as casually as one would cut your hair.

But that doesn't mean that I wasn't screaming on the inside. In ways, that even worse than giving your enemies the satisfaction of hearing your cry out, because though nothing escapes your lips, the sound of your screaming is all you can hear…

* * *

An hour later, it was late afternoon, growing on dusk. I lay in my flat 'bed' that consisted of three ragged blankets on top of the other. The wounds from my punishment were currently being bandaged up by one of my best friends…

Sephiroth.

"Thank you for doing this, Sephiroth," I murmured, lying flat out on my stomach, wincing slightly as pressure was put on my wounds. "It helps to beep them bandaged until my powers heal them."

"Why do you insist on this Aerith?" he hissed, his fingers tightly wrapping bandages around my cuts. "Your powers are becoming less and less potent the more you continue taking the blows of another!" he pulled tightly on one of the strips of cloth, a little harder than necessary in his anger. His voice was low and cool, though anger underlined it. "One of these days you're going to end up dead!" He stood up as he finished off the last bandage, turning away with his arms crossed, long silver hair swinging from its loose ponytail.

I glared at his back. "You know full well why!" I snapped, sitting up and wincing as my wounds complained to the movement. "As long as I can take what others cannot, I will gladly step in the line of fire!"

Sephiroth turned back toward me with a roar, his bright green eyes exploding with frustration. "And how long do you think it will last!?! How much longer will it be until you get one hit to many huh!?!"

I clenched my fists, my own emerald eyes meeting his own. "It does not matter how long it will last! The point is that right now it does! I can still heal where others cannot, no matter how much more slowly it takes! I take their suffering as my own!"

Sephiroth growled low in his throat, glaring at me. "That old man today, Aerith, do you think you spared him? He's going to die here, and he knows it! You cannot prevent it any more than I can!"

I growled back at him, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Well I sure as hell can try."

Sephiroth stared hard at me for a few moments, and then his shoulders slumped, almost seeming to deflate. He gave a weary laugh, his smile far from the cocky smirk I was used to. "You're just too stubborn, you know?"

His smile melted away, replaced by a look of deep thought. "Honestly though, Aerith, there isn't much we can do now. We still need more warriors to lift the resistance off its feet, warriors this place currently lacks."

I sighed, weary as well. "I know. Five people that know how to fight isn't enough. We need more that can also teach others. We've only got you, Reno, Vincent, Rude, and me. We cannot give anyone hope without the proper tools and training they'd need. Even the few people we've managed to train still don't know enough to do very much." I brought my legs up to my chest, hugging them tightly with my arms. "We need a miracle."

"Aerith…" Sephiroth murmured, gazing at me in a way that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. "You give people hope as it is. For now, that's enough." He kneeled before me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

I felt my face burning up; surprised that Sephiroth would enter into such a tender moment with me. Luckily, I didn't have to reply as the door sprung open, and Sephiroth lept away from me as though I'd been covered in hot coals. A young teenage boy stood in the doorway, panting slightly.

"Miss Aerith, three newcomers have arrived!" I jumped to my feet, amazed, Sephiroth too, looking surprised. You see, it had been over a year since anyone had arrived, and when they did, it was usually young children that had been picked off the streets. "Three children!?!" I exclaimed, eyes wide. But the boy shook his head. "No ma'am. They're adults. Probably around your age." I was filled with another wave of shock. Adults!?! This was an even more rare occurrence. The boy continued in my stunned silence. "Reno and Rude are already there Ma'am. Would you like me to get Vincent?"

I nodded, barely able to speak as I exchanged a glance with Sephiroth. The boy dashed off, Sephiroth and I quickly running out the door after him.

The prisoners would be marched through the main part of the 'city' as it were. There they would be assigned their jobs, homes, and be led into a laboratory where they would be injected with Mako. I sprinted down the rickety wooden staircase, Sephiroth on my heels. It wasn't hard to find the newcomers. A huge crowd was gathered around them forming a half-circle around the SSOC's and the three people following them in chains.

I forced my way through the crowd, determined to get a better look. Squeezing my way between two really tall men I was able to get a good look at them.

They were marching in a line, in used, dir-splattered clothes that were clearly not heir own. A woman that seemed to be around my age marched at the front of the line. She was beautiful, with long dark brown hair that was almost as long as my own, and wine-red eyes. She was gazing at her surroundings with confusion, fear, and defiance. Her shirt had apparently once been white, though it resembled yellow now, and she wore long, loose pants that were ripped in many places. She glanced back at the people behind her, obviously familiar with them as her eyes overflowed with worry. The woman behind her nodded and gave a small smile reassuringly.

The woman behind her seemed to be a little younger, just as pretty with short, jet-black hair and grey-green eyes that observed her surroundings without fear, though they were filled with confusion and anger. Her shirt was long-sleeved, one of the sleeves actually cut off so that one pale arm was bare. In contrary to the woman ahead of her, she wore dirty tan shorts.

The third person was a man with spiky blonde hair, and stunning blue eyes.

At that moment, I didn't pay attention to anything else about this man as I found myself completely and utterly captured by his eyes. They were a deep cerulean blue, the slightest tinges of green and brown flecked in. They were gazing around, seeming wary, defiant, and like his companions, confused. But then they locked with mine, and those emotions faded away. They widened slightly in surprise, staring straight into my eyes. I felt as though the ground beneath my feet faded away and I was falling, but I felt ecstatic, content, because I knew that someone was going to catch me. His eyes didn't look away from mine as he was lead away into the thick metal doors where his new hellish nightmare would begin.

The doors closed and I felt as though something important had been taken from me, my heart hammering in my chest so loudly that I was surprised no one else could hear it.

I raised a trembling hand to my heart, feeling it flutter as the memory of those blue eyes overwhelmed me.

Who was this man, I wondered, as the crowd began to disperse and return to their homes.

And how was he able to do such things to me?


	3. The Resistance

Yay! Another update! Sorry, no Vinnie in this one, I promise to get him in this next chapter!

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Chapter Three

The Resistance

My name is Yuffie Kisagari.

Right now, me, my best friend Tifa, and her would-be-husband Cloud are being led along by strange, cruel men in blackish blue suits, in a place that looks like a dungeon out of an old fairytale. I could hear the screams of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people reverberating off the walls as the guys that were leading us along walked as calmly as one would walk through a market.

Part of me wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I felt like slapping myself and screaming, so I could wake up. But then I would think about all the people that were in this god-forsaken place. I thought about each of their faces…they had all looked so helpless…so without hope…

Their faces changed me. I don't know how, but the moment I saw them, the Yuffie Kisagari that had been Maid of Honor at her best friend's wedding wasn't there anymore. I wanted to fight for them. I wanted to fight and kill the bastards that did this to them, and I knew that that's exactly what I would do. I would fight for them, and I would never give up. I found myself filled with rage as I watched the faces of children, pinched with hunger, that probably had no parents, stare with such lifeless eyes…

It was the most frightening thing I had ever seen.

"This way," one of the men in the dark suits grunted, pointing his drawn gun toward an open doorway. Stumbling slightly, Tifa walked through the door, the chains binding us together pulling slightly as Cloud and I followed. A plain wooden table stood like a sentinel in the dark room, seeming out of place surrounded by the plague of death. I know, that kind of sounds cheesy doesn't it? But it was true. I could smell death, the blood. I could feel its presence pulsing through me like my heartbeat. I was everywhere, and it wasn't going away.

A man was sitting at the table. He looked to be middle-aged, and had greasy brownish hair and oddly-colored yellow eyes. A long black cape was draped over his shoulders, and he was nonchalantly twirling a club in his hand. He smirked, the dim torchlight accenting his pale, sweaty skin unpleasantly. "Hello," he said, his voice sounding like a squeaky gate that had been oiled too many times. "Welcome to the Shinra Readjustment Facility. I am Lieutenant Hojo, the supreme officer of this facility. Please, have a seat." He gestured to three grubby chairs across from him. I glanced at the others.

Tifa was staring hard at the chairs, as though fearing that they would come to life and attack her. Cloud was glaring at Hojo, as though trying to size him up. As if on cue, they turned to look at me, their eyes silently asking for my opinion. I shrugged. It wasn't like we had a whole lot of choice. They nodded in apparent agreement, and, with difficulty due to the chains, we sat down. Hojo smiled again, lacing his long, claw-like fingers together.

"Well." He said, his eyes narrowing slightly in a mocking way.

"Well, well, well." I found myself rolling my eyes at him.

"Well what, bozo?" I smirked as his eyes widened and he spluttered, clearly not used to someone responding like that. But he regained his composure quickly. He leered at me, all fake-pleasantness gone.

"You won't be so cocky when we're through with you!" He snarled, eyes narrowed to slits. But I was on a roll. This guy was just too easy to anger.

"You think I'm cocky?" I snorted. "I'm chained to two people and have been brought to a torture chamber. Yup I'm _**really **_cocky. Then again…" I trailed off, smirking at Hojo. "At least I'm not an ugly, middle-aged guy that probably hasn't been on a date with anyone other than his cousin or mother."

Hojo growled, his fists clenching as he glared at me. Tifa looked sideways at me, her eyes full of concern. "Yuffie…?" she questioned quietly.

"What are you doing!?!" Cloud hissed, his voice so low that I had to strain to hear it. I didn't answer, staring in open defiance at Hojo.

But then, Hojo did something that my by blood run cold. He smiled, an eerie, sickly, deadly smile. "Well now," he said, his voice poisonously sweet. "The little girl thinks she's in luck, does she?" He flicked his gaze over to one of the men standing around us. "Separate her from the others," he said, before turning his gaze back to me, his eyes an icy fire.

"It's time to give her a proper welcome."

A man seized me from behind, breaking the chain connecting me to my friends, but leaving my hands tied behind my back. He roughly pulled me to my feet, his hands gripping me tighter than the shackles ever could. Cloud and Tifa cast me worried looks, apparently unsure as to what to do. I tried to smile reassuringly at them, though inside my stomach churned. I had no idea what was going to happen to me, and I'll be the first to admit that I was scared. Everything here was so foreign, and I understood nothing that was going on around me. Kindness and peace did not seem to exist in this world.

The man led me away from my friends, Hojo following close behind. We did not walk far, before I knew it, I found myself being pushed through a heavy iron-wrought door. The room was spacious, and though another table was in here, this one was made of metal, shackle-like clamps built in on top. A heavy iron chair was pulled out crookedly in front of it, and what seemed to be medical materials were scattered on the table. A syringe filled with a strange bluish-green light lay amongst them, the needle glinting in the dull light. I was forced into the chair, my arms being laid out flat and clamped to the table. Hojo stood across from me, the syringe in his hand. He smirked.

"We need to make you stronger…can't have you drop dead on us when there's so much work to be done, can we?" He leaned forward, and, looking into his malicious and greedy eyes… I can honestly say that I was afraid.

I was terrified.

He put the sharp needle into my skin, and I inwardly flinched from the cold on the metal. But as he pushed down and inserted the liquid into me, it was as though the cold was expanding, growing. It was filling my blood with an icy chill like I had never felt before, and it filled my core. I pumped through my veins and heart, until my brain slowed to a sluggish movement.

Everything was so confusing…lights…sounds…eyes…such cold eyes…

The ice paralyzed my vision, everything suddenly became so sharp and focused my mind was reeling, and I found myself dizzy and unfocused.

And then…everything went black…

Later, they told me it happened in less than five minutes. I told them that it was the same for them. We all blacked out after the injection. We all had the same icy feeling, the same confusion…

And now…we all had the same glowing eyes.

Our eyes were the same color, but they glowed now with an unnatural light. We could see perfectly in pitch-black. We could see details we had never noticed before. We could see farther, focus faster, and…we became more powerful than ever before. It was like a pulse, going through me at all times. I could feel my strength and power, flowing through me like a rushing river.

I could feel it in others too, I could feel their blood pumping, excitement coursing through their body, I could feel their fear, and hatred. Their anger and despair. I had been captured and brought here as prey. But now…

Well now…

I was the predator.

And so was everyone else.

We were shoved blindly into a clearing, released from the shackles but no more in power than before. The ground below us was actual ground, real earth. Even as I looked close at it, I could see tiny insects and roots, badly mixed with the smell of chemicals and blood.

I struggled to my knees, amazed at how much energy it took to do such a simple task. It felt as though lead weights held down my head and shoulders, my arms and legs throbbing as my muscles strained. Shaking, sweat coating my brow; I lifted my head to be met with a pair of brown boots, bent knees, and an offered hand. I grabbed it with a slight hesitation, noticing the girlish slimness to the legs and fingers. To my utter surprise, she pulled me to my feet without so much as a grunt. "I know how you feel," a strangely melodic voice, the voice of the girl who had lifted me up, said. "It's…hard…at first."

I met her eyes, and was met with surprise at the girl, no _woman_, before me. She had long brown hair, longer even than Tifa's, with slight blonde highlights. It was all held together in a thick braid, tied with a bright red ribbon. Her skin was pale, but so encrusted with dirt that she almost appeared to be a native. She was taller than me, but then again, most people are. She was slim, but you could tell, just by looking at her torn T-Shirt and shorts that she could defend herself. A black ribbon was tied around her throat in a choker-like necklace. I noticed with a slight pang, that there were blood-matted bandages encircling her arms. A trickle of blood soaked through, falling down to the ground at her feet. Higher up on her right arm, there was a golden bracelet, like an armband, a bright green Materia nestled within. But all of these details vanished when I noticed her eyes.

They were large, giving her a strange, almost doe-like appearance. Thick lashed curled around them, nestled under tin eyebrows and bags that fell out of a bright red headband. They were green. Bright forest, sun-shimmering-through-the-leaves green. Pale blues, browns, and even purples were speckled throughout, almost as though her eyes held the colors of a rainbow. I know it sounds corny, but, seriously, if you'd seen her, you'd be thinking the exact same thing. They were kind, concerned eyes, eyes that radiated a defiance inner strength I had never seen before. It was strange…almost eerie at how I suddenly realized that I cared about this girl, that she was my friend. I don't know how or why, but she was. One look in the eyes was all it took. I would help this girl, lay my life down for her, and be with her if she asked. She was now one of my best friends.

"Are you alright?" She asked, scrutinizing me in concern. I nodded shakily, my limbs feeling as though they were going to fall off. She smiled sympathetically. "Let's get you and your friends to my place so you can rest. I'll answer any questions you have there."

She wrapped my arm around her shoulders and placed her arm around my waist. Turning her head, she called back to someone I couldn't see. "Sephiroth, Reno, you have them? Good." She turned her attention back to me. "Just grit your teeth and bear it. This journey will seem long, but we'll be there soon, I promise." She smiled kindly again, and, with slow, stumbling steps, we began the long and hard journey to a safe haven.

I was shocked at how much my feet dragged, how fragile they seemed to be, every step seeming to break them in two. I was positive that they would shatter. I was positive that I broke every bone in my feet, legs, and ankles.

I was positive that I was going to die.

'Luckily' for me, I was wrong. We made it to the woman's home (For lack of a better word) and after what had seemed to be an endless journey; I was lying down on hard ground. Let me tell you, right then, and that dirty, dusty, iron-hard ground was like a godsend, and I felt as though I was descending on a fluffy pillow, rather than three threadbare blankets.

Rolling over onto my back, I was surprised that I met no bright light, only dim candles, waning in rough wooden brackets. Cloud and Tifa lay around me, both sitting up and looking tired, but more rested than I. The woman that had carried me smiled slightly at my look of incredulity that both of my friends had mustered the strength to sit. "They were able to be carried here. Both Sephiroth and Reno are stronger than I am at this time." A small sigh escaped her lips, my eyes darting to the blood-soaked bandages on her arms. The men who had carried my friends there were leaning against the wall, waiting apparently, for a signal to come forward. They were both handsome, with broad shoulders and gorgeous eyes, though both were different colors. Sephiroth looked angry and worried, his bright green eyes flickering from the door to the Woman that was now bent over Cloud and Tifa, checking them for signs of injury. I noticed the slight blush on Cloud's face as the gentle fingers of the woman brushed his arm, and felt slightly uneasy. He was supposed to be marrying Tifa after all…though I had for a long time held doubts about their relationship, though I had never said that to Tifa. They cared for each other, that much was obvious, but…I don't know…it seemed as though something was…well, missing.

The other man, Reno, seemed somewhat bored, though he too eyed the blood on the woman's arms in concern. His eyes kinda reminded me of Cloud, though they were a slightly different shade, with more green in them than Cloud's. Both of them obviously cared deeply for the mysterious woman, though Reno's eyes held more of a brotherly affection than Sephiroth's did.

"Alright," the woman stood up, turning so that she faced all three of us. She smiled slightly, placing her hands on her hips. "You all seem to be just fine, don't worry the tiredness will be gone by tomorrow. It's a natural reaction to Mako injection." Tifa gave a small cough, and the woman turned to her expectantly. "Yes?"

"Ummm…Miss?" Tifa fidgeted, seeming uncomfortable by the intense gaze. The woman smiled encouragingly. "My name is Aerith." Tifa nodded, giving a small smile of her own. "What ahh…exactly…is…um, Mako?"

She was met with incredulous silence.

Reno snorted, waving a hand airily. "How can you not know what Mako is lady? Tryin to play dumb or somethin?"

"Hey, buddy," I said, glaring at his attitude. "Shut your airhole. We're…not exactly from around here." Reno rolled his eyes. "That much was obvious."

"Reno…" Aerith said in a low, warning tone. I saw with amusement Reno's face pale dramatically as a feral smile curled on Aerith's lips.

He promptly shut up, turning away from the scene, muttering about crazy women on drugs.

"He has a point though, Aerith." Sephiroth said, speaking for the first time. "These people…to know that they know nothing of Mako…is not only unbelievable, it is impossible. Rufus Shinra has made sure of _that_." He spat the name Rufus Shinra, rage overtaking his calm and cool voice for a moment. Aerith frowned. "It is unlikely, but…they have the air or truth about them. You know that if anyone could tell that they were lying it would be me." Sephiroth nodded, his brows furrowed.

"It could simply be memory loss, I suppose…that would be logical. Not to mention probable. Sometimes Mako has strange side affects." Aerith opened her mouth to answer, but I cut across her with an irritating huff.

"Yeah," I said, waving my hand as though in greeting as they turned their faces toward me in surprise. "We're still here! You're talking about us! And I happen to know that I don't got any memory problems!"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes at me while Reno laughed softly. Aerith however, frowned more deeply. "I wonder…" she murmured, glancing significantly at her companions. A secret message seemed to pass between them as Sephiroth and Reno paled slightly in the dim light.

"Do you think so?" Sephiroth demanded, looking apprehensive. Aerith shrugged. "I can't say for sure…but it seems the most likely." Reno gave a sigh, ruffling his hair, eyes holding a seriousness I didn't think he was capable of. "Aerith…if that's true…then…I dunno, this is big, Aerith, really big. This could be what we've been looking for, what we need…"

Aerith nodded, seeming to be lost in thought. Then, abruptly, she turned to us, her voice deadly serious. "You said you're not from around here. Tell me…where exactly are you from?"

Cloud, Tifa, and I glanced at each other, silently asking who was going to be labeled as 'insane' as they told the story. Two pairs of eyes settled on me, one cerulean blue, and the other wine-red. Apparently, that person was me.

Go me…I have some _real_ friends, huh?

"We…" I took a deep breath as three extra eyes flicked over to me. "We…don't know where this place is but…it's not the world we lived in."

I was met by silence. But, once I get going…it's kinda hard to stop.

"I mean, what kind of place is this? There's no Mako or prison camps, or this 'Rufus Shinra' person where we come from! Some freaky old lady sends us here for no reason and now we're stuck in Hell? What's going on here!?!? Can someone please tell me!?!" I found myself breathing heavily. Five pairs of eyes were riveted on me, staring in silence before Aerith spoke.

"How about this…we'll tell you anything you need to know…if you give us your story. Okay?"

I looked at the others for approval before nodding curtly.

"You go first," Aerith said, sitting down on the floor, her emerald gaze sweeping over us. I glared pointedly at Cloud, silently saying 'It's your turn now, see how you like it…'

He glared back at me before telling the story. He fumbled a little bit, especially at the part where he told of his almost marriage to Tifa. He's always been sorta shy about things like that, but this time it was different…it was almost like…he was embarrassed to admit that he had been marrying Tifa…like he was embarrassed to admit such things to Aerith…

That uncomfortable bit was over soon enough though, and he finished it all up rather lamely. "That's…uhh…what happened." He said, his eyes not looking at anyone as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Aerith exchanged significant looks with Sephiroth and Reno again. "That…" She said slowly, her gaze coming back to us, "Makes more sense than you realize. At least, it does to me." She was silent for a moment, before she began a tale that would forever alter out grips on reality and the human race. Her story began twenty years previously….

A man named Shinra dominated the world, though the simple use of advanced technology. He was head of the Shinra Corporation, which specialized in advanced weapons and machinery, not to mention chemical experiments with the very life force of the planet. The Lifestream. They extracted its properties and used it for electricity and to enhance the physical and mental abilities of the human race. The only problem was, the injection of the chemical, Mako, often proved dangerous or deadly, many people the Shinra simply passing off as 'failed experiments' when they died. Slowly, but surely, he began genocide, eradicating all species that he did not find 'useful' with Mako Poisoning, while at the same time, offering the chemical to the highest bidder to increase their wares. Poverty ensued, and soon the economy failed so miserably that the wealthy began to work against the Shinra, for their own greed. Too many had fallen ill or were in poverty, nothing was being manufactured or bought and the world slipped into chaos. Then, President Shinra, came up with the 'wonderful' idea of 'hiring' labor. So, he began to recruit people, if you could call barging into their house, threatening them, and dragging them away, recruiting. Soon, it not only was what they did for labor, but it also served as a punishment for any who defied the Shinra Empire. If you didn't support Shinra, you went to the readjustment facility, and if you didn't go there…you were dead.

Children were taken off the streets, and away from families. Many came to the facility with little or no knowledge of their parents. Others had seen their parents being murdered before their eyes.

"Sephy here's the lucky one," Reno said, jerking his thumb in Sephiroth's direction, who looked extremely insulted at the nickname. "He never knew the 'rents. Aerith and I have the outcome of our parents in common. We both saw it happen too."

Aerith gave a small sigh. "Sometimes it seems like it only happened last week, or that this is some nightmare and that when I wake up, my parents will be there to help me with the bad dream…" She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears, though none fell. "Shinra found me when I was seven. Reno, Rude, Tseng, and me had been hiding together when they found us. We were brought here, where we met Sephiroth and Vincent. After about four years, Tseng got really sick, and died. Vincent and Rude are still with us today, and they should be here soon, actually."

"Here, our job is pretty simple, though that doesn't make it any less difficult. We are to mine precious metals and jewels, that are melded or shined, or whatever in a melding facility underground. The things we mine are sold around the world. The Shinra Special Operations Commanders are in charge here. The SSOC's make sure we do our job, and that we do it right. They punish us as they see fit, which is often, funnily enough. Disobey them once, you're lucky to get a warning, most of the time the get you with their clubs or hammers. The more you defy them, the more you are punished. If you do enough, you are sent to Lieutenant Hojo to be 'lightly' chastised before returning to your work."

A question popped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Is that what happened to you?"

It was Sephiroth who answered. "Aerith likes to take the beatings of others," he sneered, seeming to be incredibly angry, as well as concerned for Aerith. "She does not think that anyone should be beaten, and so she takes it herself. Even though she won't be able to heal much longer."

Aerith sighed, rubbing her temples in irritation and weariness. "Sephiroth, we've been over this. I will gladly take what others cannot. The point is that right now I CAN heal, so I don't waste my time worrying about when it won't." Sephiroth snorted, crossing his arms. And while Reno looked equally angry, he seethed quietly.

Aerith apparently noticed our confused gazes, because she smiled and explained. "I am part of an ancient bloodline known as the Cetra. We can communicate with the planet, purify the planet, and use the planet's power. It is because of this blood that it doesn't matter how I am bodily beaten. I always heal, when others cannot." She gave a rueful sigh. "I am not properly trained, and do not know how to use my power on any other. My body just heals itself. Also, sometimes, but very rarely, I get messages from the planet." Aerith took a deep breath. "The planet's dying, you see. If Shinra keeps suckin' up Mako, the planet's gonna die, and soon at that. Recently, I received a 'vision' from the planet." Aerith smiled, her eyes enveloped in a far-away reminiscing look. "The planet said that the people we needed would come from another world, and that with us we could purify the planet and end Shinra's tyranny."

"It was talking about us?" Tifa gasped, hand over her mouth and eyes wide. Aerith smiled though Reno answered. "You all are the only ones it fits. Were not gonna get another chance like this. Fact is, we need your help." This fact didn't seem to please him too much, though he made no extra comment.

I narrowed my eyes at them, frowning slightly.

"Just who ARE you guys?"

Aerith smiled, looking around and glancing at Reno and Sephiroth, both of whom looked amused, before replying.

"We are the Resistance."

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WOOT! I'm glad I finally got this up. Sorry if it doesn't have the flair of the last chapter, but I am reasonably pleased with this. Here's a few things for you to know about this fic:

There will be a Cloud/Aerith/Sephiroth love triangle. If you have read my profile, you will see that I do not support Sephiroth/ Aerith, because in FF7 he kills her. Well this isn't FF7 is it? It's another universe. Cloud and Sephiroth won't hate each other in this, though they will get into a fair amount of fights, (most of them over a certain green-eyed Cetra,) but they'll end up being sort of buddies in the end. Sephiroth is still the result of experiments on him and his mother while he was in the womb, but he doesn't know anything about his past. He will find out though..and it isn't pretty...

Also, slight Reno/ Tifa/Cloud triangle, though Tifa and Reno will get together in the end. It's just going to be hard because both Cloud and Tifa will be wondering what would have happened had the wedding carried out all the way.

Yuffie and Vincent will get together. There will be some drama for them, but Vinnie never met Lucretia here, so he won't have past attatchments. He still has his claw arm and enhanced senses (as well as his crimson eyes) but no Chaos.

Also, YES everyone has been injected with Mako, Aerith too. Aerith can't heal like in the game (at least, not others) because she never learned how. She'll figure it out as the story goes along, but for now, she focuses on martial arts.

Tifa still knows martial arts. Everyone pretty much has the same abilities, just no weapons, so that makes it harder.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Next Chapter: Home, Sweet Home: Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie become part of the resistance, and discover exactly who they're fighting for. The whole camp is one family, one being, united. They stand together, yet forever apart, even side-by side around a bonfire.


	4. Home, Sweet, Home

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Yay! Update! If you're a Cloud/Aerith fan, check out my one-shot for them called More than Words, it has a suprising twist! Anyway, hope you enjoy!  


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Chapter Four

Home, Sweet Home

A long silence stretched between them at Aerith's words. Yuffie gaped at her slightly, while Tifa was frowning as though she didn't understand. Cloud was frowning too, but only from surprise and something that seemed to resemble concern.

Before any of them could express their feelings aloud, there was a loud BANG, as a trapdoor flew open beside Tifa. She shrieked and jumped about a foot in the air, hand clutching at her heart. Yuffie jumped backward as well, zooming backward and smacking her head on the wall. Cloud flinched at the noise, eyes narrowing, muscles tense as he prepared to fight whatever came out the door.

Reno laughed and Sephiroth smirked at their reactions, earning them a glare each from Aerith. Smiling, she said, "You're later than usual Vincent. The lackeys giving you trouble?"

A deep male voice grunted from the trap door. "I brought two said 'lackeys' with me, they completed the training we can give them." There were several loud thumps as the sound of people climbing a ladder echoed around the room. Four people emerged from the floor, three men and one woman, each covered in dust and wearing baggy clothes.

The only woman among them had blonde hair, looking almost brown with the dirt coating it. Her eyes were a brownish green, and she looked to be around twenty-five or so. Her arms were crossed and she looked as though she disapproved of the entire situation.

The man next to her was tall and black. Bald and wearing a single earring, his face was serious and powerful. He looked at Aerith, Sephiroth and Reno in great respect, bowing his head slightly. It was impossible to tell his age.

The next man was blonde and looked to be in his thirties, with blue eyes and what was unmistakably a cigarette burning in his mouth. He looked at Tifa, Cloud, and Yuffie with a raised eyebrow, seeming unimpressed.

The three otherworlders gaped in wonder at him.

"C-Cid?" Tifa gasped, eyes wide as saucers.

The man frowned. "How the & ya know my name, girl?"

Letting out a small squeak, Tifa covered her mouth with her hands, as though she wished to prevent any more words from escaping her lips ever again. She shook her head at his questioning eyes, resettling herself on the blanket under her feet.

The last man was easily the most recognizable.

He wore a red headband that held back his long ebony hair, with a tattered red cloak to match. Underneath that, his clothes were torn and black. He also wore heavy brown boots with metal on the toe.

Yuffie gazed at him in amazement, knowing that he was unlike any man she'd ever met. It wasn't because of his gold claw-arm, his long black hair, or porcelain-like skin, no.

It was because of his eyes.

They were crimson, like blood fire, and the reddest rose, glowing with the power of Mako, and with power, sadness, and determination. Yuffie visibly swallowed as she felt her world rush around herself, as though the ground beneath her feet vanished, and she was falling, falling, into sweet oblivion. The man's eyes were locked with hers, though he seemed more confused that anything else, his eyes wide and surprised.

Reno broke the moment.

"Hey Vinnie," he said with a wide grin. 'Rith here thinks she's found her Martyrs. What do you think?"

Aerith rolled her eyes as Vincent's gaze turned to her, questioning. "They're not my Martyrs Reno, honestly…" But she gave Vincent a significant glance that he seemed to understand immediately. He gestured the three other people to sit around the room, and they obeyed him without question.

"Alright, now that everyone's warm and cozy, anyone care to…I don't know…EXPLAIN A LITTLE MAYBE!?!" Yuffie's irritated words were echoed on Cloud and Tifa's faces.

Aerith nodded toward her with a slight smile. She took a deep breath.

"As long as I can remember from being in this place, there hasn't been one prisoner that didn't want to get out- or die trying. So, once we were old enough, we started the Resistance." She turned and smiled at Sephiroth, Reno, Vincent, and Rude.

"We were some of the few people that knew how to fight, and had been trained in it," Aerith continued, turning her attention back to Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud. "So we took it upon ourselves to train the people of this facility in the ways of fighting. That way, we could have an army of people bent on revenge, and we could strike against Rufus Shinra and the Empire. Except…" She sighed. "Many do not wish to learn how to fight, or they are too young or old. Thus, our plans changed. Rather than take the president of the Shinra Corporation, we planned an escape. After that…"

Aerith trailed off, biting her lip, an odd look in her eyes.

"After that…we have no plan, none other than staying alive, and well out of Shinra's way. We hope, that once outside, we will be able to do more of a frontal assault, but as of now, we are not ready. We cannot train the able fast enough for even our plans of escape to work…"

She trailed off again, though this time she smiled. "But…now with you here, you can help us fight the Empire, train our comrades, and get out of this forsaken place." Her smile was like a bright beacon in the dark, and Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud exchanged uneasy glances. Tifa bit her lip.

"Aerith…I'm sorry…but, don't we get any say in the matter? How do you know that we even know how to fight, let alone that we can train others?"

Aerith smile faltered, and Tifa looked guilty. But Aerith's smile was merely replaced by a thoughtful look. She raised an eyebrow at Tifa, but directed her question at Cloud.

"So…what is your issue with us?"

Cloud blushed in the intensity of her gaze. "I…I don't have an issue with-"

Aerith cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"No. Not us as people. 'Us' as in the Resistance. You do not like it. Why?"

Cloud gave a small sigh, averting his eyes from Aerith's.

"You…you are not well organized. I value what you are trying to do, but you are putting all of the possibility of success or failure on three people you just met! You're putting a lot to chance, and putting a lot of lives at risk. What will you give them, even if you do get out of here? What do you give the thousands of people you tell me are confined here at this time? What do you give them as they waste away in this Hell?"

His speech was greeted with an angry silence.

Yuffie openly gaped at him, while Tifa gazed at him unbelievingly. Reno's jaw hardened, his fists clenching as he glared at Cloud. Vincent's eyes became such narrow slits it almost looked at though he had closed them, and his jaw line was twitching in anger. Rude crossed his arms, fists tight, while Cid and the blonde woman glared daggers at Cloud.

But it was Sephiroth's reaction that surprised them all.

"You Bastard!" Sephiroth hissed, leaping up from his place at the wall to run at Cloud, who had not time to prepare as Sephiroth's hands dived for his throat, pushing him up against the wall.

"How _dare _you?!?" He growled, pinning Cloud down to the wall. His jade-colored eyes were ignited with fury, the lines of his face hard.

"Let him go!" Tifa, Yuffie, and Aerith yelled, charging forward.

Tifa raised her fists, her expression like a raging forest fire. Yuffie raised her hands as well, eyes like flint, her breathing heavy.

Aerith ran forward, placing both hands on Sephiroth's shoulders. "No Sephiroth! He doesn't know, let him go now!"

Sephiroth relaxed at Aerith's touch, his hands loosening slightly on Cloud's windpipe. Cloud's face, which had been turning a blue to match his eyes, returned to normal color. He glared at Sephiroth, raising his hands, attempting to pry off Sephiroth's hands.

"Aerith!" Sephiroth hissed, his eyes darting to her. "He…insulted…what we go through…you go through…" His words were indistinct, coming out in a snake-like hiss from between his teeth. "Everyday…people…die…you…

we…help them…"

Aerith nodded, her hands gently coaxing Sephiroth's away from Cloud's neck. "I know Sephiroth," she said, her voice low and soothing. "But hey don't. Please…let him go…"

The silence stretched on, Sephiroth's eyes locking in a heated stare with Aerith's. Slowly, slowly, his grip loosened. The moment his fingertips were away from Cloud's neck, Aerith relaxed, a split second before Cloud punched Sephiroth hard in the jaw.

Sephiroth stumbled backward, clutching his bruised face, eyes flashing dangerously. Straightening, he clenched his fists and tried to move Aerith out of the way.

"Come on then," Cloud said, his breathing heavy as he entered a fighting stance. "Let's see how well you can take me on when I fight back."

Sephiroth growled low in his throat, lunging forward.

"STOP!"

Aerith stood between them, one hand outstretched toward both of them. Her eyes were getting brighter and brighter, and her palms glowed a faint green color. Both Cloud and Sephiroth stopped in their tracks, staring awestruck at Aerith. The light on her palms grew brighter as she began to speak.

"You will not fight each other. You are on the same side. Both of you back off before I blow your arms up. Now."

Her voice was different; simultaneously lower and more feral, while still sounding angelic. Her hair blew slightly in a wind she seemed to be conjuring herself. She raised her hands threateningly when neither Cloud nor Sephiroth moved from their spot.

Slowly, they backed away from her, and each other. And even more slowly, the strange light that had flooded her eyes so suddenly vanished, and her palms returned to normal.

Aerith swayed on the spot, her eyes closing halfway as the world seemed to spin before her, though luckily a pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the ground.

"Ugh…" She muttered, raising a hand to her forehead. Blinking blearily, Aerith looked up into strangely familiar blue eyes. "Cloud…?" she murmured as her senses returned to her.

It was indeed Cloud, looking at her with worry in his bright blue eyes. "Aerith…are you alright?" He murmured, so quietly that Aerith suspected she was the only one that heard. Giving a short nod, she realized that people, all of whom looked worried for her, surrounded her.

Shaking her head to clear it, she struggled to sit up, noticing with a slight blush that she was laid out across Cloud lap.

"Whoa…" Aerith said as she found herself at her full strength, even though she had just fainted. Tifa and Yuffie were looking at her in amazement and concern, frowns on their faces. Vincent had let a great deal of concern into his usually quite emotionless eyes, and Aerith noticed rather belatedly that his hand was gripping her shoulder tightly. Reno leaned forward and placed a hand on her forehead, searching her face for signs of illness. Cid and the blonde woman Aerith knew to be Elena be behind them, worry and slight apprehension on their faces.

It took her a moment to realize who was missing.

"Where's Sephiroth…?"

The crowd around her exchanged grim looks. It was Yuffie that answered.

"He…left," she said, not meeting Aerith's eyes. "After you fell. He had such a look on his face…like he had just witnessed his mother's death or something…he knew you were okay though," she added quickly, seeing Aerith's alarmed look. "He made sure of that first thing. Then he just…left."

Without a word, Aerith stood up, struggling against the many arms that tried to force her down. She shook them off.

"Sephiroth blames himself for something stupid again. He shouldn't have been fighting, but I let my powers get out of control. Sometimes…he can be such an idiot…" She sighed.

Tifa stepped forward. "Are you going to look for him?"

Aerith paused, before slowly shaking her head. "No…I've had enough experiences with this type of thing to know what to do. Sephiroth won't be found unless he wants to be. Which, I expect, won't be for a long while…"

She shook her head again, worry reflected in her eyes. "In any case, I've got a question to answer, don't I?" Her eyes flickered over to Cloud, who found himself feeling immensely guilty. Opening his mouth to apologize, he was cut off as Aerith gave him a very sharp look through narrowed eyes.

She turned back to Vincent. "Cover up the trap door, make sure Cid and Elena are well safe inside it. I have to lead the newcomers around."

Vincent gave her a long, piercing look before nodding. He ushered Elena and Cid down the trap door, shutting it firmly after them.

Aerith turned to Reno, though she addressed both him and Vincent. "Are you coming, or are you just going to meet up with us at usual place tonight?"

Reno frowned for a moment, before giving his usual cocky smile. "I think I'll come along. It might be fun to see the newbies stumble." He smirked at Tifa, who found herself blushing under his heated gaze.

Vincent looked thoughtful, frowning slightly. "I…have matters I must attend to. I will meet you all later." He gave them all a slight nod, and turned on his heel with a swish of his cloak. He paused slightly at the door, before turning to Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie. "You are a part of this world now." He said, his crimson eyes boring into them all. "If you do not do everything in your power to heal it, then you really aren't living. Your own world did not get where it is without hardship. The trials you will face here will determine who you really are." His eyes focused on Yuffie for a brief moment before he swiftly opened the door and walked out.

Frowning slightly, Aerith's eyes stayed fixed on the doorway Vincent had went through, seeming lost in thought. With a shake of her head, she turned back toward her companions, a smile in place.

"Come with me. I want to show you our world…"

And show them she did.

The strange newcomers found themselves amazed and terrified at the sights before them, the horrors and truths of their new life.

Yuffie watched, her heart shriveling, as children with hollow, sunken eyes lay like dead bodies on the ground, mouth part way open and parched, crying out for parents that weren't there. And she watched as Aerith held their trembling bodies, watched as she made them laugh and smile at the smallest things. She watched as they paid her in turn, tugging on her hand and showing her objects they had found, stories they had to tell. Aerith held their hands and laughed at these children, with their wide eyes and innocent smiles, her eyes sparkling like jewels in the mist. They loved her. She was their mother. She loved them, and held them, like no one else could.

Tifa watched, a sickness seeming to spread through her body as the old and broken stumbled by. Once, perhaps, they had been like her, young and strong, ready to face any challenge. And now they lay broken, forgotten. Alone. Unwanted. Left to die.

And she watched as Aerith kissed their foreheads, smoothed their hair and told them stories of light and love. She watched as they clasped her hands and murmured words she could not understand, though Aerith smiled as though they spoke plainly, embracing them like long-lost family. Tifa watched as Reno, with his cocky, joking, attitude, clasped their hands and wrapped their wounds, speaking softly, tender, caringly to the nameless people that would likely die in a day. His eyes were alight, like the sea in the sun, shining bright enough to outlast any other. And she smiled as he turned his eyes on her with the same caring light, making her whole world somehow brighter.

Cloud watched as anyone and everyone met them on the streets. He didn't know what he had expected, for Aerith to show them where they were to live, how to do their work, perhaps?

But not this, that much he knew.

Aerith showed them the people, the real people that were living there. She showed them these people so that they wouldn't be a distant memory, so that they wouldn't be another nameless face to forget. She showed them so that they could see and feel and touch the lives that were so utterly and completely real that their whole world seemed to spin with the truth of it. They existed. They laughed and cried, and held on tight to Aerith as though she were a precious gem that could break and never be seen again. They loved and looked on, looked into his eyes with such a deadened look, he found himself questioning what it meant to live, if such people could live this way. And Aerith smiled, her eyes and warmth filling his heart with such wonder, such happiness, such unfathomable _life _that he wondered how his heart had even been able to beat before, without these people, without her, there to smile for them. And he couldn't help it…

He smiled back.

The day was done, the people met, and throughout it all Aerith hardly spoke a word to the newcomers, hardly explained to talked about what was before them. But that had a purpose too. Now the people weren't just someone they were introduced to through someone else. They met them personally, by their choice and will.

As the day began to close, Aerith told them of one last place they had to go.

She led them back to the house that she slept in, and she led them down the trap door. Taking a torch from the wall she led them down a long, twisting tunnel, never halting in her step. Finally, she spoke to them all.

"I want to show you," she said. "I want to show you where we truly live together, as one. Where we can live without the Shinra butting in for a while, until the morning comes."

Without further explanation, she led them down the dark path to a wide archway. Runes of an unknown language were inscribed on the edges, glowing a faint greenish-white in the darkness.

An amazing sound greeted the end of their journey. Firelight and laughter. The wild, carefree laughter of young children.

The sight they met was even more spectacular.

A huge, antechamber-like room was before them, dug out of the very ground. Tall, ancient grey pillars carved with the same strange runes dotted the sides of the underground room, reaching up to dig into the ceiling. Stone houses, all with the odd symbols, lay like a quilted blanket before them, forming a great ring. In the center of it all, was a huge, crackling, bonfire; around which what seemed to be half the inhabitants of the facility were crowded. Children danced in the flickering flames as other banged on the ground in various beats, though a few were blowing on what seemed to be handmade flutes.

Laughing at their wide-eyed amazement, Aerith led them toward the throng, explaining for the first time that day.

"I stumbled across this place about five years ago. Shinra hasn't found it because only a Cetra can get in here and open the caves. All the old writing is from them. They built this place, who knows how long ago, as a safe haven for their people, and it's doing the same thing now." Beaming at them, she continued. "We can't fit everyone in here though, and we have to be careful about who we tell. Right now, only those openly in the resistance, else the young or the old, are in here. Soon, everyone will know."

Suddenly, as they drew level with the crowd, which parted automatically for them, a small blur rushed up, talking Aerith in a tight hug.

"Aerith!" The young girl squealed, her face buried in Aerith's shoulder. "You're here!"

She stepped back, revealing an adorable face, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a delighted smile on her face that seemed hauntingly familiar to the newcomers…

"Marlene…"

Yuffie's whisper was lost within Tifa's, both of their eyes wide. Cloud too, was looking incredulous, though not as much as he had at the sight of Cid.

The girl, Marlene, frowned at them. "Are these the new people? Are they gonna help us fight Aerith?"

Aerith laughed after a small pause. "That's up to them sweetie. Do you want to show them the bonfire?"

Marlene grinned again. "Yup! Come with me new guys!"

And she dragged them forward, past Aerith and Reno's snickers.

Up close, the fire was even more impressive. Standing feet away from it, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud felt as warm as they would have on a summer's day. Smiling faces surrounded them, and they understood why this place was so wonderful and important.

Here, for a while, they escaped the horror of their reality. They laughed, and were really, truly, happy. Here around this bonfire, they were no different from someone from Cloud, Yuffie, or Tifa's world. They lived as one.

Marlene marched back to Aerith. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and wonder. Smiling, she took Aerith's hand and led her forward. As she came, the crowd was silenced, seeing Aerith seeming to mean something important. Marlene stopped when she had led the woman to a gap in the crowd before the fire, so that she was facing everyone.

"Will you sing for us, Miss Aerith?"

Aerith smiled, but didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Cloud, her eyes locking with his. For a moment they were caught up in one another, but Aerith broke the connection by speaking in a ringing voice.

"Earlier," She said. "You asked me, 'What do you do for these people?' Well, Cloud Strife, I have shown you our world, and the people within it. I have shown you our lives, our very existence. And now, I shall answer your question. What do we give these people, Cloud Strife?"

She paused, and nodded at Marlene who smiled happily, joining the crowd for a better look at the young woman. Aerith looked up again, her eyes meeting Cloud's once more.

"We give them Hope."

As though on queue, those few that carried homemade flutes began to play a soft, familiar, melody. Her foot tapped in a similar, slow beat, and Aerith began to sing in a beautiful voice, once that seemed to show her life being in its entirety.

"_I was standing, by my window_

_On a cold, and cloudy, day._

_When I saw the, hearse come rollin'_

_For to take my mother away."_

Pausing for a moment, Aerith raised her arms, her voice echoing throughout the entire room, haunting, beautiful, and sad.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord in the sky."_

Firelight glittered in her eyes as they swept the faces of the people around her. They lingered on Cloud, Yuffie, and Tifa, who found themselves remembering the song as though from a long-forgotten dream.

"_Well I told the, undertaker,_

_Oh undertaker, please drive slow._

_For that body, you are haulin'_

_Lord I hate to see her go…"_

Tifa and Yuffie looked at each other, as the words came to mind. They knew this song. Softly, slowly, they began to sing along, their voices melding in a wonderful way with Aerith's, echoing for all to hear.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home-a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord in the sky…"_

Aerith made no objection to the new voice, merely raising her hand to them, offering for them to join her fully. The came forward, standing before the crowd, hands clasped, uniting as one.

"_As I followed, close behind her,_

_Tried to hold up and be brave._

_But I could not, hide my sorrow,_

_When they laid her in the grave."_

Three sets of eyes scanned the crowd, making connections, and uniting with people that were now their truths and reality. Emerald, Wine-red, and Stormy green-grey, met the people, and allowed their words to fill them.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home-a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord, in the sky…"_

Tears brimmed in their eyes, emotion filling them as they felt the song explain their lives, their hopes, dreams, and fears. Striving to keep their voice straight, the girl tightened their hold on the other, as though they were afraid to leave.

"_I went back home, my home was lonesome._

_Missed my mother, she was gone._

_All my brothers, and sisters crying,_

_In our home so sad and alone…"_

Marlene stepped forward, linking hands with the three women, adding her own voice to the mix. Her young, innocent voice rang out, through the hearts of the people, and they never looked away from the haunting eyes.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home-a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord, in the sky…"_

Cloud could feel the song within himself, yet no sound issued forth. Beside him, Reno began to sing, his deep and surprisingly good voice joining with the girls. Children all around were singing, some running up to join hands, others merely staying in place, reaching for someone beside them.

"_We sang the songs of, childhood,_

_Hymns of fayth that made us strong._

_Songs that our mother, had taught us,_

_Hear the angels sing along…"_

Slowly, slowly, the crowd began to join them, the sound growing and growing until it felt as though the whole world sang with them. Cloud still found no words escaping his mouth, trying to immerse himself in the beauty of it all, so he could join them and become one.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home-a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord, in the sky…"_

Emerald eyes locked with Cerulean blue ones, and Cloud felt something blossom within himself, something more than hope and dream, more than the song, could give. He felt it as he had never felt it before. And staring directly into Aerith's eyes, he began to sing along.

"_One by one the, seats were empty,_

_One by one they went away._

_Now my family, they have parted,_

_Will they meet again someday…?"_

No one complained as a man with long silver hair stepped through the crowd, his moth forming the words, eyes never leaving Aerith's face. She smiled at him, and nodded, but otherwise did nothing. A dark-haired man with a long red cloak and a golden claw arm was behind him, and even he, too, sang the song.

"_Will the circle, be unbroken,_

_By and by, lord, by and by._

_There's a better, home-a-waitin'_

_In the sky, lord, in the sky…"_

And their voiced melded, merging until there seemed to be only one voice, one voice filled with the suffering, sorrow, and hope, of a whole people. One voice that song united, for all eternity, binding them together for an endless journey. An Cloud knew, just as Tifa, Yuffie, and everyone there, knew, that they were together, for better or worse, that they were a part of one another, and that no matter what, they would help them in any way they could.

"_In the sky, lord…in the sky…"_

* * *

Whew! I've been_ planning this chapter for weeks!_ Not much excitement, but the next chapter will be hopefully.

Here's the Reveiws!

kyos-girl101: Thanks! I'm glad you think so, and I'll try to update as fast as I can!

May: As you can see, Cid is in this, as well as Marlene! You'll know why soon...

SimpleNClean92: Yup, Vinnie has his claw arm. There's a reason for that...and Tiranlges are fun, it's gonna cause a lot of drama and angst, but it will end up okay...for most people, at least...

Well, I THINK that's it for the last chappie, give me more reviews please!

Next chapter:

Work Our Fingers to the Bone...: Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie are shown just what that pharase means as they make some startling discoveries, and we learn where Sephy and Vinnie went!

Please Review! I'll try to update soon!


	5. Terror and Secrets

Okay, I know, this was supposed to have a different title. But hey, This one fits more I think.

Anyway, here's a cute Cloud/Aerith thing that happened when I was a kid:

My brother bought Final Fantasy 7. I always watched him play video games, because I really couldn't understand how it all worked. I watched the beginning scene (The one with midgar, Cloud, and Aerith) and spoke to my brother. Our conversation went like this:

Me: (seeing Aerith's face) WooooW. She's pretty.

My brother: (laughs) Yeah.

Me: Who is she?

My brother: A main Character I guess. Probably a good one.

Me: Oh, she's good alright.

My brother: If you say so.

Me: (Seeing Cloud) Oh! Who's that?

My brother: Another main character.

Me: Ooooh. He and the girl are gonna get together, huh?

(Sigh) Some things are obvious, even to a five year old...

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Five

Terror and Secrets

My name is Tifa Lockhart.

And at that moment I was surrounded in darkness, suffocating in the terrible fear and sadness that thrived in the air. Blood and chemical smells filled my nose as I tossed and turned on the floor. I knew that I would never get to sleep; how could I when all I had was the hard floor and a threadbare blanket? I couldn't imagine ever being able to.

I allowed myself to enter a half-conscious state, brooding on my situation. Mere hours before, we (we being me, my best friend, my future husband, and the leaders of an underground resistance) had been stationed around a bonfire, among the starving and suffering people of the Shinra Readjustment Facility (SRF for short). For a while we had seen truly what they were fighting for, the people and the hope that they needed. But all too soon, we had returned to our reality-and it was hard to remember the light and heat of the fire.

When the day returned it would be time for us to fully experience the lives of the people here; for we would be one of them.

I have worked hard before- I'm a trained martial artist. But they do nothing short of slavery here.

Turning over, I found my eyes settling on the still form of Aerith, leaning up against the wall. Her breathing was deep and even, eyes closed gently. Almost unwillingly, my eyes flickered between her and Cloud, and I felt myself filled with grief. I wasn't naive or stupid- it didn't take much to interpret the way they looked at each other. It was as though they didn't even need to think about it…they just cared.

I almost cried aloud. Cloud was MY husband…or he would be…when we got home…if we got home…

With the force of a wrecking ball I realized- we very well could never get home. We could be stuck in this horrible world forever…

A small cry escaped my lips at that as I struggled to keep the tears out of my eyes. What if we never got home…?

What if…we died here?

I had never been so scared in my entire life. Why did this have to happen to me, to US!?! Why did we have to suffer, yet be strong?

Glowing blue eyes staring in my direction cut off my thoughts.

I knew it wasn't Cloud. It was funny- but I could so easily tell the difference. Like how you would know a woman wasn't your mother even if she wore the same sunglasses and blouse.

It was Reno.

I could see, even in the darkness, that his eyebrows were furrowed, looking confused. And possibly concerned.

"Hey- why you cryin' chick?"

The insulting term brought me to my scattered senses.

"Like you care!" I flared, whispering furiously. "Like you care about a woman who you won't even call by name! Like you care about her friends that might die after being forced upon evil and danger! Like you care about the ones helping you, when you don't even want their help!"

I was hysterical and I knew it. I also didn't care.

Reno narrowed his eyes, beside me faster than I would have thought possible. "Be quiet!" He whispered fiercely, grabbing my arm tightly. "'Rith's not exactly a rock when she sleeps, and I doubt you friend and husband are either!"

I found myself breathing harshly, eyes wide and threatening to overflow with tears. Reno's hand tightened on my arm- and before I could react, he dragged me to my feet, and silently through the door.

"We'll continue this out here."

Shutting the door firmly, but lightly, behind him, Reno began dragging me behind the 'house'. "Okay," he said, dropping my arm. He stepped back, raising an eyebrow in a way that suggested that he found me unimpressive.

"You…" I snarled, clenching my fists. "You don't give a DAMN about us!"

Reno snorted. "Do YOU give a damn about me?"

His rebuttal caught me off guard. Did I care about him? I thought about his smirks, his rude names and cocky attitude. About the way he so kindly helped children and old people when they were in distress…

I hadn't known him very long. But friendship, unlike some things, didn't always need a lot of time…

"Yes…" I turned away from him, seizing upon my temporarily buried anger before he could respond.

"We're just supposed to do it without question. Without thought…" Why wasn't I shouting? I was angry, so why wasn't I screaming my anger at him?

"I come from a world very different from this one. Yet I have seen familiar faces, familiar words…I can't sit and do nothing, not after knowing what is going on here. But…I could die. We could all die…so easily…we could be trapped here…we could never see our families again…or what's left of them. But worst of all…" I closed my eyes against the onslaught of tears that threatened to spill from me.

"…We could fail…"

Silence. Then- "Huh."

I turned around at the surprise and wonder in Reno's voice. He smirked at me, a look that was completely at home on his face. I noticed at that moment, how very different his eyes were from Cloud's. They were rebellious, smart-alec, cocky. And I liked it. He continued:

"Looks like first assumptions aren't always right. I think that maybe I won't mind your help after all…"

* * *

(Narrator's POV)

Within the depth of the condemned cabin, a girl with ancient powers and bright green eyes listened to the exchange, wide awake.

And in the dark where no one could see her, she let the tears slide down her face. For what they would go through, for the price they would pay, she wept. And she resolved, as she sat there in silence, her heart crumbling in pain, that she would help lift that price- no matter what she paid in return.

No matter what price she paid- she would pay it gladly.

Deep breathing filled the room, punctured by soft snores. Or loud snores, in the case of a sprawling ninja. As if on a silent queue, a woman leaning against the wall opened her bright green eyes, flicking them about the room, studying the sleeping occupants. As she looked, Tifa rolled over, muttering sleepily. A smile came to Aerith's face as she watched them sleep so peacefully. After being around so many that held sadness on their face, it was good to see her new friends so untroubled- but her grin faded as she thought of the fact that the peace would not last. There was much ahead of them. But Aerith knew that they could handle it, that her friends would be okay. They had to be- for Aerith could not think of a life without them.

BANG!

All occupants of the room jumped up, immediately on their feet, traces of tiredness hidden. Sephiroth's eyes swept the room, doing a quick head count as thundering footsteps sounded outside. Meeting Aerith's gaze, he nodded.

"A gunshot…"

Everyone turned to stare at Cloud, who was gazing at the door with a far-off look on his face. At the sight of everyone's eyes on him, he muttered: "My mother was…shot in the head when I was five. That kind of thing sticks with you for a while."

"A warning shot…?" Tifa breathed, staring too, at the door.

"No…" Sephiroth murmured.

"They want us outside don't they?" Yuffie's voice was low. At Aerith's nod, her eyes narrowed, jutting her chin out in defiance.

"Wait," Tifa said suddenly, glancing around the room in worry. "Where's Reno? He's not here."

Despite that claim, everyone glanced around anyway. Aerith's brow creased in worry. "I don't know…I…" Her eyes widened. Her hand lifted to her mouth, horror drawing over her expression. "…No…"

A collective gasp passed through them before they ran pell-mell to the door.

The whole of their 'community' had gathered outside their houses, forming a ring around the center. People stood on the railings of steps trying to see over the numerous heads, pushing and whispering in fright. Cloud shoved his way through the crowd, following behind Sephiroth, Tifa, and Aerith. Yuffie was struggling too keep up, the people looking over her head, not realizing that she was there until she kicked them violently in the shins. Oddly enough, no one moved in front of her after that.

Cloud could feel his heart pounding as he followed his friends. He couldn't explain the horror he felt at seeing such terror in Aerith's bright eyes. A part of him worried for Tifa, whose face was screwed up in the effort to keep from crying out. But a larger part of him focused on Aerith- and the hope that she would never feel such fright again. And yet, a very small part in his subconscious, wondered and worried over the fact that he was not thinking solely of his future wife.

The people parted more or less for Aerith as she scrambled to get to the center of the circle of staring people. It took less than two stuttering heartbeats, but to her it felt like a torturous forever. But soon she stood, staring at a new addition to the dirt and slime, the others staring in horrific wonder beside her.

A metal platform, circular and massive sat before them. SSOC's armed with guns stood around the circumference. Facing the gaping group was another raised platform, connected to stairs leading down to the ground, where the crowd had parted near a faraway door. They could not see who stood in that path, leading from the door, but one of them was standing on the raised platform, a smoking gun in one hand, a weakly struggling man in the other. The SSOC grinned, eyes hidden by a visor on his helmet. He tightened his hold on the wrist of the man, pushing his forward and holding him over the edge of the platform.

"Biggs!" A wail of despair met Aerith's ears, she and the others turning to gaze at a woman about ten feet away struggling against the hold of another man that was speaking softly to her. The SSOC's raised their guns threateningly, aiming at the struggling woman. The man at her side pulled her to the ground, saying harshly, "Stop it! He doesn't want you to get shot! There's nothing you can do for him now!" Tears leaked from the man's own eyes as he dragged her back, the woman now reduced to hacking sobs.

Yuffie gasped, tugging on Tifa's arm. "Tifa…it's…its Jessie!" Tifa turned to her friend, eyes tearing up. "So she's here too…" Turning to stare at the man now gazing fixedly at the wailing Jessie as he hung over the platform, Tifa murmured:

"Didn't she mention a relationship with someone named 'Biggs'?"

At Yuffie's horrified nod, Tifa moaned, putting her hands up to her face. "Oh Jessie, oh no…"

Their attention was drawn to the SSOC holding on to Biggs' writs as his gun gave a small clicking sound that seemed magnified in the now horrified silence, though Jessie's sobs still shattered the air. The SSOC turned very slightly so that he was facing the sobbing Jessie and the tearing man. A grin came upon his features as he aimed directly at Biggs' head.

His finger inched toward the trigger.

"No…" Aerith murmured, reaching futile fingers out to the doomed man. The SSOC nearby pointed their guns at her and the others, reading them warningly. She drew back only after seeing that her friends were in danger. Tears collected in the corners of her eyes. Sephiroth pulled her back, trying to draw her further into the crowd, put she stayed put, closing her eyes as the moment drew nearer.

"Cover your ears," A deep voice called softly to her, warm hands falling on her shaking shoulders.

_Cloud…_ she realized, following through with his request, though se opened her eyes to gaze at him, and then the face of the man for the last time.

The SSOC pulled the trigger.

The boom of the gun seemed to pierce their hearts as Biggs abruptly stopped moving, the back of his head gone and bloody- a hole in his forehead. His listless eyes stared endlessly at the screaming Jessie. With another grin, the SSOC dropped the dead man. He fell so slowly it seemed, before he crashed, head thunking on the metal, one arm outstretched on the ground toward Jessie and the man now using all of his strength to hold her back. Two SSOC's came around and picked up Biggs with ease, carrying him around the platform, toward the door.

"NO! NO! DAMNIT WEDGE, LET GO OF ME!!" Jessie struggled harder than ever against the hands holding her down. "NO! COME BACK! GIVE HIM BACK TO ME! PLEASE!" She sank to her knees as the SSOC's went out of sight. "Please…" She sobbed, hands covering her face. "Please…"

The man holding her, Wedge, pulled her back into the horror-filled crowd. Terrified, many tried to draw back, only to have the SSOC's level their guns at them. The crowd froze, hardly daring to draw breath.

The quiet was shattered as a SSOC ran up the steps to the raised platform, the sound of boots hitting metal shaking all out of their daze. "Sir," The SSOC panted. "This is the one that was giving us so much trouble. What should we do? You will miss if only you hold him…"

The superior SSOC frowned in thought; then smiled wickedly. "Two of you hold him then, I shall shoot from behind." The lesser officer nodded, running back down the steps.

A moment later, the same officer along with another came up, holding a red-haired man by the arm. A number of bruises dotted his exposed arms, as he struggled to move his feet, which had been chained together with a heavy lock. The SSOC's walked carefully around their superior officer, holding the red-haired man out above the lower platform, a wrist in one of their hands as they stood on opposite ends of the raised platform. The superior officer stood behind them, aiming his gun at the head. The man raised his head.

It was Reno.

His bright blue eyes moved over each face, searching for familiar ones. He found Aerith first, and smiled, turning his gaze then to Sephiroth, Cloud, and Yuffie, the smile still in place. They were too stunned to react. Finally, his eyes met the wine-red orbs of Tifa, and his smile became sadder. She stared at him, horror seeping slowly through her- realization had not yet hit. He gave his best cocky smirk before twisting his lips in odd ways. Tifa realized belatedly that he was mouthing words to her-

'Be brave….' He mouthed, eyes conveying the silent message as well. 'Take care of them.' He jerked his head very slightly toward Aerith and the others.

His lips moved again, and Tifa swore that she felt, rather than heard, the slightest of sound escape.

'Goodbye…'

Images assaulted her mind- Reno smiling cockily- him laying a hand on her shoulder- Reno helping old men drink water- and Reno singing softly, his eyes staring into her very being from across the bonfire.

And now, Reno being held above a metal platform- gun loaded and ready, pointed at his head.

Tifa began to realize what was happening. "No…" she breathed, heart seeming to stop in her chest. Every moment seemed to have become shattered, and was moving slowly.

The SSOC smirked as he put his finger on the trigger. He pulled.

"NOOOOOO!"

Aerith was reaching out toward Reno, fingers reaching for him. Her eyes grew brighter, the iris seeming to expand until both eyes were completely green, drowning out the pupil and whites. Her hands glowed faintly, small tendrils of energy twisting in the air from her palm, moving in a clear path to Reno. He was gazing at her in shock, the bullet intended for him pushing, shaking futilely against a shimmering shield, no more than an inch away from his body that was spreading rapidly from the back of his head, to his whole body. The chains holding his feet shattered into dust. The SSOC's holding his wrists were forced to let go as the shield came up from beneath their fingers, forcing them upward. The superior SSOC let out a growl, firing at Reno once, twice, three times, the bullets stopping an inch from his body, spinning in place before falling to the ground. Aerith's body jerked as each bullet struck. Blood leaked from holes that were scraping themselves in her skin, small holes about the size of the bullets- two in her arm, one on her back at the base of her collarbone, her hands began to move toward the ground, bringing Reno with them as another hole began to make it's way into her scalp. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the glow stopped, her eyes returned to normal, the digging of a hole in her head immediately ceasing. She slumped on the ground, barely conscious.

The silence ended abruptly as Aerith's friends closed around her, shaking her, looking anxiously for something to stop the bleeding. Reno stood on the platform for another moment before rushing forward to join them. The SSOC's on the ground looked up to their superior, waiting for the signal to shoot the man. The superior SSOC merely scowled darkly, thrusting his gun backward, letting it clatter on the metal stairs before turning on his heel, motioning for the others to follow him. Slowly they did, until there were no SSOC's anywhere nearby.

"Aerith, AERITH!!"

"Quick, someone get something to stop the bleeding!"

"No! NO! Idiot! Why did you do that?"

"Stay with us Aerith, come on…"

The voices of her friends swam around her- they soon discovered that their efforts were not needed, as the holes began to heal of their own accord.

Slowly, Aerith blinked, opening her eyes. A voice that was everything and nothing, neither spoken nor silent, vibrated through her.

_**We heal you, our child. You gave yourself without thought to another of our small children. But we need you to stay and save us…**_

_**There is much you still must learn…soon, we shall teach you…**_

The voice faded to be replaced by those of her friends. Aerith smiled at them, her eyes lighting up to see Reno standing over her. He frowned angrily, bending down so that he was inches from her face.

"Stupid girl- you shouldn't have done that! Aerith, you could have died! I'm not worth that!"

Aerith laughed weakly. "And here I am saving your life. I expected a little gratitude. Don't get used to it, with that attitude it won't happen again."

His eyes went softer for a moment. Sephiroth cut across him, snarling. "It shouldn't have happened at all Aerith! We could have found another way!"

Aerith glared up at him. "What other way exactly? I saved his life- and don't you _dare_ say you're sorry for that!" She stood, shakily at first, and then stronger. She felt a warm hand still on her shoulder and saw Cloud staring at her, worry deep in his eyes. Aerith found herself calming, not telling him to remove his hand.

"Aerith…I…we're glad that you're…okay…" He stumbled around his words, blushing and looking at his feet. Aerith had to fight down a giggle- he was just too adorable. Tifa had good tastes- Aerith felt her smile fade as that thought came to her mind. She felt rather cold all of a sudden. Still, she stuck the smile back up, murmuring, "Thank you all for this concern. I am okay now though." She made to step forward, only to be caught as her feet wobbled beneath her. Sephiroth had one arm, his eyes no longer dark with his anger and worry, though he still looked concerned.

A flash of red caught their attention, Vincent making his way rapidly toward them. He bent so that he was level with Aerith. He touched her forehead lightly, staring intently into her eyes. He gave a small smile. "You are a rare person, Aerith. And thank the planet that I have known you, and know you still. I hope that I will always know you…" He kissed the top of her head in a fatherly way before grabbing her, and lifting her gently into his arms. Vincent turned, cloak billowing around him, his eyes meeting Yuffie's for just a moment before walking through the thinning crowd, the others in tow.

* * *

"So. Why did they do that?"

They all sat in Aerith's 'room'. Yuffie and Tifa were beside her, while Vincent stood in a corner, Sephiroth sat with his back up against a wall, Cloud slouched near the door, eyes riveted on the three girls. Reno sat on the piled blankets, fist under his chin, staring at the floor in thought. At Aerith's question, he looked up. "They told us some crap about there being too many people here, and that they needed to control the population. But I don't but that." His eyes flicked to each person in the room. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"A warning?" Tifa suggested, drawing her knees up to her chest. "Did you or Biggs do anything specific to taunt them?" Reno shook his head.

"Maybe…" Yuffie murmured. "Maybe they were just doing it to get to you, Aerith." She looked up, meeting Aerith's eyes before moving them to gaze into crimson orbs. "Don't you think, seeing as you keep defying em', that they might go to others knowing that they can't hurt you physically enough to make you stop?"

Vincent frowned, though he held her gaze. "That is a distinct possibility…" he muttered, seeming slightly surprised. Yuffie laughed, saying: "I have been known to be smart every once in a while." She felt a swooping sensation in her stomach as Vincent's lips twitched into what could have been a smile.

"Maybe they were just doing it for the heck of it?" They both turned in surprise toward Sephiroth, whose eyes seemed strangely darker than usual. "These guys don't give a damn about us- who says that they need a reason?" His arm seeped to be moving spastically. Somehow, it put Yuffie in mind of a nervous tick she saw in Tifa whenever she tried to lie…

Aerith was staring hard at the ground. Finally she said, "I don't think I need these bandages anymore. My wounds have healed; they are no more than scratches now." She turned to Yuffie and Tifa, smiling slightly. "Could you two help me get out of these, and clean them? I'd rather not get infected."

When the girls nodded, she turned to glare playfully at the boys. "Go on, out! This is girl business, no boys allowed!"

"Huh?" They stared at her, rather thrown off by the subject change. Aerith waved her hand toward the door. "Go on! The work day will be starting soon anyway, Reno, could you show Cloud where to go? Sephiroth, you and Vincent should help. Tifa, Yuffie, and I will catch up later." Sephiroth blinked and began to protest. "Aerith, you just used up a ton of energy, you can't work today! Stay here and play sick or you'll hurt yourself more!"

The other men nodded, Aerith's fists clenching. "I am going. Do you think the Shinra will stand for it if I do not labor, and you all protect me? Do-"

"Please, Aerith." The voice was so quiet, Aerith wasn't sure if Cloud had really spoken or not. She tried to look away before his gaze met hers, but it was too late. She stared into his eyes for a long moment before looking away. "Fine. But tomorrow I am going." She chanced a look back up a Cloud who gave her a small, though heart-melting, smile. "Thank you. I…we…could not stand it if you died Aerith, or if you hurt yourself."

Her eyes softened as she smiled. "Go on, the other two will meet you in a few minutes."

When none of the boys moved, her glare became deadly.

Sullenly, though rather hurriedly, the males scampered out the door.

Shaking her head slightly, Aerith stood up, going to a far corner of the room. Reaching her hand to pull up a loose floorboard, Tifa and Yuffie gasped as she pulled out small black canteens of water. She tossed one to each, grabbing a third for herself.

"They give each of us about ten or so of these every three months. At the end of each week, we fill them up with water. We have to use it for drinking and cleaning." Aerith plopped down on the floor.

Together, they peeled off Aerith's shirt, picking at the bandages covering her undershirt. For a while they sat in silence. As the bandages were completely removed form the shirt, and they began to work on the skin, Aerith spoke.

"The Shinra did this deliberately. They were trying to show you- and us- something. But what? This was not population control, or something to do just because they could. We are all a part of a dangerous game. They have options and parts that they have to play, pieces of a puzzle to build. We have to connect it before it all comes together for them."

Yuffie dabbed a bit of cloth ripped from her shirt in water from the canteen. Gently, she placed it on Aerith's back and began to wash at the dirt. "Do you think that maybe they were testing your powers?"

Tifa answered before Aerith did. "No," she said, gently adding her own damp cloth to Aerith's wounds. "They were too angry, too surprised. I think they were giving us a message. Like a code, almost."

"But what could that message be? What do they know?"

As for that however, none of them could answer.

* * *

Sephiroth stood, looking oddly like a sentinel as he gazed around himself. Footsteps approached and he spoke without turning around.

"What do you want Vincent?"

The red-caped man slid near-silently up beside him. For a moment they both stood there, watching Cloud being led around by Reno, the look on his face suggesting that he did not like being ordered by him one bit.

Finally, Vincent spoke. "You were late last night in coming back with those weapons. You have not offered an explanation."

"I don't need to tell you every detail of my life."

"No, but you have been to closed on it. And today, you lied to Aerith's face- to all of our faces. You are hiding something. What is it…?"

The silence stretched on. Sephiroth murmured, his voice low, "It is all my fault Vincent. I can't tell her, or any of them. I let them down."

"How…?"

Sephiroth turned, and there was long-held suffering in his eyes.

"Vincent, I was seen. They know about us, about the resistance. The President it coming."

* * *

oooooooooh! (Laughs evilly) If your think that's a cliffhanger, wait till you see the end of the next chapter!

There is a poll about a new fic of mine on my profile, please go vote!

And now the reviews:

kez92p9: Thanks! or should I say Thanktaculous?

roxas-kh: Thanks! A lot of people are saying that this is very origional, so I'm glad! I like the couples too...)

0XoSakuraoX0: Thank you! I've glad you like this story!

kyos-girl101: Though I did not update soon, I did update! Promise to be faster next time. I had major writers block.

SimpleNClean92: Yeah, the last one was sort of 'feel-good' huh? Well, I hope this one keeps you interested!

That's it! Reviews make me happy inside!

Next Chapter Preview: Work and Fear: Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie realize just what hard work is as they struggle to survive the harsh Shinra Facility. But as Sephiroth reveals more to Vincent, and Tifa remembers a conversation she had with Reno, the day is not a total loss- though it is frought with doubts and fear. But that is not over, they return to Aerith's room to find a horrific suprise...


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